Renaissance
by Lawliets of the Rebellion
Summary: This was another one of Jarl's ideas. I myself merely refined and edited. L did not die after Light 'killed' him. He was saved due to a rather unusual deal.
1. Chapter 1

A mysterious figure walked toward the grave of Light Yagami, known by some in life as Kira, a fact that the figure was all too familiar with. He knelt by it, ignoring the questioning stares of passerby. To be fair, he certainly was an eccentric figure. A messy head of black hair and pale skin that looked like it hadn't seen the sun in a long time certainly would catch people's eyes. But only a very select few had known what the famous L really looked like, and those weren't people that would go visiting Light's grave. The world's greatest detective, L Lawliet, stared at the words inscribed in the headstone. For someone who considered himself a god in life, the headstone was rather plain, with merely the inscription of his name, Light Yagami. L sighed, recalling some of his memories with the man known as Light Yagami. Perhaps in another life, they could have been friends. But the Death Note corrupted him, turning him into little more than a serial killer calling himself justice, and in the ashes of Light Yagami rose Kira. "Hello, Light-san. Don't worry, I'm not here to gloat over your defeat. Quite the opposite, in fact. You've given me new purpose. After you were defeated, every case I've been taking has seemed quite mundane." L stopped, taking out a candy bar. "You know, Light, I never had a big problem with your views on justice. But I knew you would become corrupt. You already had a god complex to begin with, and power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your arrogance blinded you to the fact that you became the very monster you claimed to despise. I have learned from your mistakes. I'm going to fix the world. And yes, I know it was I that once told you, 'No matter how gifted you are, you cannot change the world.' But I've never been one to turn down a challenge. And I am in an excellent position to do it." L paused, taking a bite of a candy bar held in his hand. "For one, I won't be searching for any Death Notes. I don't want my only partner to be some Shinigami only interested in entertainment. You're probably wondering how I will go about this, then, if, of course, you can even hear me at all from wherever you are, though the likelihood of that is only 3 percent. I have made my own deal with the supernatural. This is also how I survived the Death Note. But I couldn't be resurrected until after my successors had taken you down. Otherwise I would be fighting a war on two fronts, with Kira on one side, and the corrupt upper class on the other. That's a battle I am not likely to win. And that's another difference between our two quests. Unlike you, I will mainly focus on the corruption in the upper class first, rather than working on killing every low level criminal. Now, I've spent enough time here." L stood to rise, gazing down at the grave regretfully. "I wish I could've saved you, Light-san. You could've been a friend. But there was a highly unlikely chance of that anyway. I calculate about 1.5 percent. Still, Light-san, wherever you are, I wish you well, despite your attempted murder of me. Good bye, Light Yagami." He turned and walked out of the cemetery. He put his thumb in his mouth and pondered his next move. As if summoned, a man dressed in dark, antiquated formal wear walked out from the nearby shadows and stood side by side with L. His eyes had a demonic red glint to them. "What are your orders, my lord?" Sebastian Michaelis asked. A bright purple pentagram lit up in one of L's dark obsidian eyes. "Take us back to the mansion. I have work to do. Dig up all you can about the corrupt American senator, Dan Carlson. Oh, and from now on, refer to me as Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki Phantomhive." "Yes, my lord. Any other requests?" L chewed on his thumb. "If it's not too much trouble, could you pick up a cake?"


	2. Plans and Preparations

The Phantomhive Manor (Outside of London)In the blink of an eye, Sebastian transported himself and L to the Phantomhive Manor in England, depositing L at the front of the manor near the imposing wooden doors. The next instant, Sebastian vanished to fulfill his new master's other orders. L walked toward the mansion, gazing up at the old and mysterious building. It was incredibly convenient for him that the real Phantomhive noble line died out with one of Sebastian's previous contracts, a boy bent on revenge, Ciel Phantomhive. After his death, Sebastian had forged a new identity for L and subsequently, L had inherited the title of Earl of Phantomhive. The ancestral obligation of the Phantomhive line as the Queen's guard dog was no more, having been abolished in 1941 when one of Sebastian's former clients, Jasper Phantomhive, was incriminated as a Nazi sympathizer, freeing L from that responsibility. (Whether Jasper really was a Nazi sympathizer is a matter of some debate. Whenever anyone asks Sebastian, he simply replies, "A good butler doesn't get too preoccupied with his master's politics.") L walked into the manor, taking a moment to take it all in. He was no stranger to wealth and power, but the house seemed to have a sinister atmosphere. He couldn't even blame it on Sebastian. He started to explore the house, looking through the ancient rooms of the old manor. He found a bedroom at the end of a hall. It clearly had belonged to the late Ciel Phantomhive. L looked around, taking in the room, gazing at the shelves, the neatly made bed. It appeared that someone took great care in maintaining the room as it had been. L lost all sense of time, lost in thought. Suddenly, a wind seemed to rustle through the house, jostling him out of his stupor. L turned around to see Sebastian standing there with several documents in his hands. He stared dead into L's eyes, not saying a word. Finally, he broke the somewhat awkward silence. "I found information on Senator Carlson from the American embassy. Apparently he's not too popular even among his fellow Americans. They had quite the stories to spill about him." He handed the documents over to L. "And you were sure not to make any suggestions that you were connected to the House Phantomhive or the Funtom Company?" L asked. "Why, of course. What sort of sorry excuse for a butler would I be if I couldn't keep my master's work a secret?" "Thank you, Sebastian-san. Do you have my cake, as well?" Sebastian reached inside his coat and removed a white cardboard box with a ribbon. Eagerly tearing off the ribbon, L opened the box and inhaled deeply. A freshly baked strawberry cake. A small smile was the only outward sign of the squeals of joy going on in L's head at that moment. It had been too long since his last piece of cake. Approximately 37 hours and 43 minutes, to his calculations. Then he mentally composed himself. "Excellent work, Sebastian-san. I will need some time to go through these files. I will call you if you are needed." "Very well, Master Ryuzaki," said Sebastian as he walked off. L took a moment to look back into the room, then walked out and closed the door. He went into one of the studies and squatted down on the chair, forgoing the typical manner of sitting in favor of his own method so as not to lower his deductive abilities by 40 percent. "U.S. Senator Daniel Carlson. Over the years, he's been accused of multiple crimes. Sexual harassment, tax evasion, and assault top the list. However, the charges have never stuck due to mysterious 'accidents' or the victims recalling their statements. He was responsible for a new legislation that allowed police to use deadly force in nearly any situation, and found no issues with police brutality, even going so far as to say it wasn't brutality, but rather justice. Not widely liked or respected due to his views, he will make the perfect first target for my new crusade." L paused in his thoughts to take a bite of cake."Sebastian," he called. The demonic butler appeared within moments. "Yes, my Lord?""I think it's time to invite our good friend Senator Carlson over to "discuss possibilities of investing in the Funtom company"," L said with a slight smirk. Sebastian returned it with a mischievous smirk of his own, his red eyes giving off an eerie glint.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Few Days Later**

"No, Sebastian the meeting is taking place in my own home. I'm sure I can get away with wearing my white shirt and jeans and walking around barefoot," L insisted, refusing to let Sebastian into his room with the suit he had for L to wear. The argument had been going on for a while, with Sebastien growing more frustrated by the minute and L refusing to back down. "Master Ryuzaki, you're an intelligent man! Surely you know how ridiculous that sounds!" L paced around his room and pulled out a pair of sandals from under his bed. "Fine, I'll wear sandals then. Those cover the bottoms of my feet, though I don't see your issues with my normal attire. I don't expose any body parts deemed inappropriate in most cultures." Sebastian was beginning to grow even more frustrated. "Really, Master Ryuzaki do you have no social skills at all? This is a formal business meeting. You most certainly have to change right away." L sighed, he knew he'd have to dress up for the sake of the mission but he highly resented it, yet in was in his nature to have a hard time admitting he was wrong so easily. He made a silent decision to continue the argument with Sebastian for a little while longer, and then give in. "I'm not going to change," he said plainly. Sebastian sighed "You're a grown man, Master Ryuzaki. Please don't say I have to come in and dress you!" He slammed open the door, breaking the lock in the process. He sighed, knowing he was going to have to fix it later. "Really, Master Ryuzaki, this is just getting ridiculous," Sebastian said as L poured salt from a salt-shaker into a ring around him. L had read that Demons couldn't get through the salt-ring somewhere before and figured now was a good time to test that theory. Sebastian tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. "Master Ryuzaki, I know you're only doing this because you're being stubborn. Surely you know I'm in the right." L looked at him with a blank stare for a while then smirked a little. "Fine I conceded that. I will wear shoes, not the socks." Sebastian sighed heavily "Just please step out of the salt circle, Master Ryuzaki." L discretely moved some salt from the circle out of the way with his toe to let the demon in but refused to say anything or move to put on the clothes. Sebastian sighed as he stepped in and began to put the socks on L's feet. L squirmed making it hard for Sebastian to put on the socks. "Socks throw off my thought process!" "Yes, that's why we've rehearsed exactly what you are to say to Senator Carlson and what we are to do. Now please do stop squirming, my Lord." After a few minutes of this L had his socks on, much to Sebastian's relief L was able to buckle down and put on his own pants shirt and suit but then it came to the tie. L kept moving his neck out of the way when Sebastian tried to put on the tie "For Satan's sake, Master Ryuzaki! It's just a tie!" "No, wearing such a thing will cause me discomfort and reduce my deductive abilities by 2%!" "Surely this isn't the first time you've worn a tie!" "It actually is! On the rare occasions I've had to go outside and in disguise for a case I've specifically avoided ties even if I had to wear socks and shoes!" "This is hopeless. Ciel was so much more mature than you are and he was only 13." He then looked into L's eyes, his own turning a deeper reddish color and L became paralyzed for a split second while Sebastian put on his tie. Then he released L from the trance. L looked down, seeing the tie. He sighed. It appeared he'd lost this time. He made a mental note to get him back in the future, perhaps make him do some menial tasks. But now, he had a meeting to attend.


End file.
